Mark Hicken

Mark Hicken is a Vancouver lawyer providing a full range of legal services to the wine industry through his own law practice, Vintage Law Group, located in Vancouver, BC. For certain matters, particularly litigation, Mark often works in collaboration with the team of lawyers listed here.

Mark has a B.A. (Honours) from UBC and a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He is a member of  the Law Society of B.C., the Canadian Bar Association, the International Association of Wine Lawyers (Association Internationale des Juristes du Vin) and the American Society for Enology & Viticulture. He has also completed the Wine Executive Program at the University of California, Davis. Mark is also a member of the advisory board for the BC Hospitality Foundation and is an associate member of the Import Vintners & Spirits Association. Mark has a diverse background including time spent working for larger Vancouver law firms such as Lawson Lundell and Russell & DuMoulin (now Fasken Martineau), entrepreneurial technology businesses and marketing agencies. Mark has supported the Vancouver International Wine Festival for about a decade and is currently the chair of the Wine Auction Committee.

In April 2012, Mark appeared before the House of Commons Finance Committee as a witness in favour of Bill C-311 (the inter-provincial shipping law reform bill which became law in June 2012). Recently, Mark has been interviewed and quoted on wine law issues in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Vancouver Sun, the Vancouver Province, the Calgary Herald, the Toronto Star, the Advocate, Canadian Lawyer, Lawyers Weekly, BC Business, Business in Vancouver, CKNW radio, CBC radio, CBC television, Global television, Wine Spectator, Vines, Grape2Vine, Wine Business Monthly and Wines & Vines. Mark was the founder and co-chair of the November 2009 Winery and Wine Distribution Law conference in Vancouver. He was also the co-chair of the 2011 Wine Law in British Columbia Conference, the 2012 Wine and Liquor Law in BC Conference and the 2013 Wine Law in British Columbia Conference. He was also one of the featured speakers at the 2011 12th Annual Viticulture & Enology Conference in Penticton and will speak in August 2013 at the Wine Law in Washington Conference.

Mark believes that effective legal advice must be provided in the context of a client's business objectives. This is critical in the Canadian wine industry where regulatory structures affect every aspect of the business from conception to consumption. Please feel free to contact Mark if you have any questions about legal issues affecting your winery or agency. Mark's contact info is here.